Leigh Wood has confirmed his intentions to rematch Mauricio Lara for his WBA featherweight title – and doesn’t fancy waiting around too long.
The Nottingham man went into the fight with many praising him for accepting such a difficult and explosive challenge in Lara. The Mexican had previously announced himself on British shores with a shock stoppage over Josh Warrington in 2021.
Wood was boxing well against Lara, buoyed by his home crowd and appearing to move ahead as the rounds went on. The Mexican, though, proved all of the fears expressed by fans and pundits beforehand correct.
He pounced with a huge left hand as the pair traded, and landed much more effectively than Wood, who was dropped hard and extremely dazed. The referee was to let the action continue, but Wood’s trainer, Ben Davison, knew his fighter wasn’t fully recovered.
Despite just ten seconds left in the seventh, he threw in the towel – a decision Wood didn’t like at the time but has since agreed with.
The former champion told BBC Sport that he has a deadline for the rematch.
“It’s been hard because it still hurts. I want an immediate rematch. I’ve told [promoter] Eddie Hearn that’s what I want. I want the rematch as soon as possible.”
“I want it as early as the end of May, or in June by the latest.”
As for reflecting on the fight, Wood admits he got complacent in a fight that he was up in.
“I can’t say too much because I don’t want to give away the game plan, but I knew that the first four rounds are when he’s most dangerous and then he was gassing. He was as I thought he was, and he didn’t know what I was doing.
“I just got caught with a good shot. I got complacent, started planting my feet and paid the price.”
Lara is contracted to the second fight, so there’s unlikely to be prolonged negotiations. Should he manage to beat Wood for a second time, a trilogy fight with bitter rival Warrington awaits.
The Leeds man will also be there looking for a shot if Wood wins, but has admitted he would rather face the Mexican given the bad blood.